Tuesday, November 29, 2011

We went to 7 AM Mass on Sunday – not to our usual parish. I could see that some liked the Missal changes and some did not. I sure did, the priest did not. He expected us to follow the new words but he didn’t — he improvised his wording. I know because I followed the new Mass card.

The revised wording is elegant, theologically rich, biblically precise and in line with the liturgy of the whole Church. It now accurately translates the original Latin. Why did it need to be revised? The translation rushed through in the 1960’s was an inferior translation. It is as simple as that. The 60’s were marked by a certain progressiveness, a liberal bent, a desire to leave the old Church behind and create a new more modern and approachable Church (which is why many churches built in that era look like Protestant churches).

Like Fr. Barron’s wrote, “the translation of the liturgical texts, which was made in some haste in the late ‘60s of the last century, was not sufficiently faithful to the Latin and was, at least in some instances, informed by questionable theological assumptions.” He is being very kind and measured in his comments.

If one wants to vent a bit of frustration with change, it should NOT be directed to the good bishops today who have served us well by restoring the much needed elegance and theological precision to the liturgy. The frustration should be directed at those who in past decades did us a disservice with a poor translation that ultimately needed to be corrected. They probably did this because they were influenced by the “loosy-goosey,” hip and progressive mentality of the 60’s.These are the ones that caused the problem. Direct any frustration in that direction. The bishops today have FIXED the problem. They should be praised and thanked, not criticized.

If a car is built with defects and breaks down on the freeway it needs to be repaired. Who should you be angry with — the manufacturer who made the mess or the repairman who fixed it for you?

I think the ones criticizing are the those people still stuck in the 60’s — like the priest at 7 AM Mass where we attended.

I am not angry or frustrated with anyone. I understand the men educated in the 60’s, 70′ and even 80’s were often sold a rotten bill of goods. For that I pity them. Most of these young men entered seminary full of vim and vigor and were let down by the bishops and educators, themselves poisoned by modernism and trendiness. There are still vestiges of it floating around in seminaries and parishes today, but thank God it is dying out. The new bishops and priests understand the gravity of the situation and are making the right moves. The new Missal is one blessed example.

Janet and I enjoyed the new Missal, and enjoyed our first Mass using the revised wording. Sure, we stumbled and bumbled through it a bit but that will pass as we learn the new words and they become second nature. The Mass rose to a higher level for us. As the novelty wears off we will be immersed in the beauty of the Mass even more than before. When we celebrate Mass again, this time with a priest who also loves the improved wording, I think we will rise even higher in the pinnacle of worship for Catholics.

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